ENGLAND rugby player Ben Foden lives in Bedfordshire with his wife, The Saturdays singer Una Healy, 33, and their two-year-old daughter Aoife

I absolutely love the festive period and come Christmas Day Una, Aoife and I will be celebrating alone at home and I’m really looking forward to a quiet, low key affair. We are both very close to our families so we’ll be catching up with both sides over the period and there will lots of noise and laughter.

This year will be extra special as I have hand-made Aoife a traditional wooden doll’s house complete with furniture.

I am not the most practical person in the world but a lot of love and work has gone into it and I can’t wait to watch her open it on Christmas Day.

Next year I hope to make a train set as we are expecting a little boy in the spring.

2 Siblings

Una and I both come from very tight knit families and set aside lots of time to spend with them. Una is close to her sister Deirdre and I have a strong bond with my older brother Tom, who is a former rugby player.

I also have three older half-sisters from my dad’s first marriage, Miranda, Abigail and Kate, who have always been a huge part of my life. Miranda has come to practically every rugby match I’ve ever played in and it always means so much to me to see her there.

3 Chocolate digestives

I have a dangerously sweet tooth which I have to reign in while in training but I don’t believe absolute abstinence is particularly healthy. So once a week I treat myself to a packet of chocolate digestives. I usually eat the lot in one go along with a giant mug of tea.

Fortunately Una is more of a savoury person and prefers crisps to biscuits so I don’t have to share with her. There is something so deliciously decadent about cramming one biscuit in my mouth after another.

The rest of the time I have to be very strict about my diet but every year there is a couple of weeks in the summer when we don’t have to train quite as hard so I always treat myself to profiteroles.

4 My car

I have a beautiful new black BMW X6 which I am extremely proud of. It looks like a cross between a four by four and a sports car, so I know it’s safe but has power too. I love driving, although I probably move a bit too fast at times but having Aoife in the back has made me a more measured driver.

5 iPhone

I am completely addicted to my iPhone and I never leave home without it. The thought of not being able to contact Una in an emergency is horrible and I love the fact that I can send emails and texts no matter where I am.

I am a huge fan of Twitter and now have more than 145,000 followers. It is a great way of keeping in touch and finding out what is going on in the world.

Having said that, I do believe there is a time and a place for technology. When Una and I go out for dinner I hate to see other couples sitting there completely ignoring each other and playing on their phones.

*Ben Foden is encouraging parents to give homemade gifts this Christmas as part of the Worx DIY Christmas campaign. For more info visit Facebook.com/worxgardendiy